1. Field
The embodiments are generally directed to semiconductor devices, and more specifically to microprocessors.
2. Background Art
Buffer overflow attacks represent a substantial security threat for many computer systems. During a buffer overflow attack, a user of a computer application exploits certain vulnerabilities in the code which allows the user to insert data into the call stack region of memory. By injecting data into the stack, the user can cause the computer to execute code that compromises the operation of the system and the security of its data. Some approaches to prevent stack buffer overflow attacks involve compilation techniques or other software based methods. However, these methods may add significant overhead to the performance of software and may require recompilation of existing code.